Salted Toffees

By Our Premier League Editor

Across Stanley Park from the vaunted Anfield sits the home of a second historic liverpool football club. The ground dubbed Goodison Park was opened on 24 August 1892, by Lord Kinnaird and Frederick Wall of the Football Association.  Interestingly, Everton also won their first English League Championship the year before, but playing, of all places, at Anfield!  Nicknamed The Toffees, Everton Football Club has a storied heritage. You still get people who think that Everton is the Catholic team and Liverpool is a Protestant team, which isn’t true. Everton and Liverpool football clubs were both founded by a Methodist church!

Everton’s motto Nil Satis, Nisi Optimum means Only the Best is Good Enough but in recent years Evertonians have been forced to accept much less than that! Opponents have added too much salt to the Everton toffee! Right now Everton lie 16th in the Premier League. Last year they finished 16th. The year before that they finished 16th. Of course with this heritage with this community (shout out to John in Ormskirk, Carrie-Anne in Liverpool and Nigel in Toledo, OH) there is always hope! But it’s like hoping Dominic Calvert-Lewin plays three consecutive games without suffering a season-ending injury!

Fan discontent is widespread in the Premier League. You will remember intense fan protests at Newcastle’s St.James’ Park right up to last year (not to mention Stamford Bridge). At Everton Bill Kenworth, Chairman of the Board and first among the old guard, is in hospital recovering from surgery for liver cancer. Likes a bottle of claret, our Bill?  Forgive me for wondering whether all Everton supporters are wishing him a speedy recovery!

Of course the Newcastle protests were all dispelled by the PIF take over. And in the same way the only thing that will restore morale at Goodison is a restoration of Everton’s fortunes. It’s certainly no good selling your best players – isn’t Anthony Gordon doing well at Newcastle! So where’s the light at the end of the tunnel? Garner, man of the match Harrison, and Doucoure scored for them on Saturday. Jack Harrison was making his full debut for Everton, on loan from relegated Leeds United. Born in Stoke, educated at Wake Forest, he played two seasons with New York FC before returning to England to pursue his footballing career. Hard-working, skillful and intelligent (see Roger Bennett interview him on MIB) Everton need to LOCK HIM IN and build the team around him!

The brand new Everton Stadium is under construction on Bramley-Moore Dock in Vauxhall, Liverpool. It will become the home ground for Everton during the 2024–25 season, replacing Goodison Park. It will be a magnificent stadium in a historic location! If only the football can live up to it!

So how do Everton escape the perpetual relegation nightmare? Three things: Everton Stadium; Jack Harrison; and wealthy new owners to expel the tired and superannuated Kenworth and his cronies!